One Light Burning
by the-great-snape-debate
Summary: What if the killing curse doesn't actually kill people? What if the ministry was entirely mistaken on what the curse does? How does this effect the people who have been involved in the war, and can they prove that this one occurrence was more than just a fluke? SS/HG JP/LP
1. All alone in the dark

Chapter One

Harry's entire body felt numb, his knees weak and shaking as he slid down the wall, suddenly regretting declining Minerva's offer (or recommendation) of a seat. His head swam as he clutched his chest. He felt like his heart was going to pound out of his chest.

"W-" Harry didn't even know what he wanted to ask. "How?"

"We are unsure, Mr. Potter." Minerva said approaching the young man. She reached down for his arm, enticing him to stand. "Come and have a seat in the chair." Harry didn't hear what she had said, but she was patient with him and repeated herself a few more times. After a few moments he stood numbly and moved to the chair, his hands shaking.

"How did they know? How did they find them?" Harry had so many questions buzzing in his head.

"Pure-Blood families generally put sensory charms on the graves of their loved ones. It's an unnecessary old fashioned tradition that many families hold to. Though it's rarely used if one was killed by the killing curse as it's an unneeded expense." She said. "It was more used in olden days when there was the off chance the one that had passed on, had not indeed passed on and had been accidentally been buried alive. It has saved at least a hand full of people in the past. But never has anyone been dead so long that they came back twenty years later." Minerva explained. "It's rarely used anymore, but it was, however, in your father's will, and since he and your mother were buried together that charm extended to her as well."

"So … This isn't just a cruel joke?" Harry asked. "They're really alive? Both of them?"

"Yes." Minerva said. "They were retrieved on Halloween, when the sensory charm had alerted the ministry. They had thought it was a malfunction in the charm … someone playing tricks."

"Halloween?" Harry asked. "That was over three weeks ago!" He said looking quite hurt. "Why didn't anyone tell me sooner?"

"Please, Mr. Potter. You have to understand this is a big shock, not only to us, but to your parents as well. They don't remember dying, or being dead. The last thing they remember was playing with you in the living room of Godric's Hollow. They understand that many years have passed, that much they have adjusted to but … you're going to come as a shock Harry. Even if they have been informed numerous times over the past month. They remember you as an infant, and as far as they know … the last time they saw you was a month ago. It's going to be a hard adjustment for them."

"When can I see them?" Harry asked. Minerva pursed her lips and sighed through her nose.

"We have made arrangements for you to meet them tomorrow. They have been warned that you are now an adult Harry but … it's going to be hard for them to see you. It may be … upsetting for them." She said.

"But, I'm their son. Surely they'd …. They'd want to see me …" Harry said, suddenly doubting. What if they didn't want to see him? After all he'd only been barely over a year when they'd last seen him … what if they refused to believe he was their son … what if they tried to cope with it by pretending he was a stranger … that Harry was actually dead. What if they had another child to replace him? Constant questions where filtering through Harry's head and a sudden surge of anxiety hit him like a blow to the chest.

His parents where both alive but …. What if they didn't want him? Would that be more cruel than if they had remained dead? To know that they were alive but didn't want him, or for them to be dead and have the hope that they had loved him … wanted him …. Was that selfish of him to ask that?

"Harry, they've done nothing but ask for you over the past month but … it's going to be a hard adjustment." She said, patting his hand. "It's getting late … you should go home and get some sleep … I'll come by your place and take you to see them."

"But I want to see them now." Harry said, never wanting anything more in his life. Even if they did just turn him away. He had to see for himself.

"You need time Harry … to take it all in. All the information I've given you … and tomorrow we will go see them. For tonight, you need to sleep. It's very late. I'm sure they'll be sleeping as well by now."

Harry wasn't happy about it, and tried to argue again but in the end wound up going home as he was instructed. Once he arrived home he saw Ginny sitting on the couch. He had to tell her. It was going to be a long night.

((A/N - Short chapter intro - hope you all like - i generally like to backup chapters and post them every few weeks but this one I will be posting as I write - as always please R&R))


	2. No walls or windows

Chapter 2

Harry stood nervously in the hall of a house he'd never been to, but by the pictures on the mantle it had to have belonged to Dumbledore or his brother Aberforth at some point … He looked up the stairs and could hear Minerva talking, but no one else. He sighed and walked back into the living room, Ginny watching him from the couch. She'd come for support.

"Harry sit down." She said taking his hand as he moved past her. "You're only making your nerves worse."

"How can they be worse?" Harry said still pacing the room. "What's taking them so long? The anticipation can't be worse than actually meeting me can it?" He asked her quietly. "Maybe we shouldn't have come." Harry said. "Maybe this was a bad idea." He said though he wanted nothing more than to walk up those stairs and see them whether they liked it or not.

"Harry, sit down and relax." She said. "Of course they want to meet you, how could they not, you're their son." Ginny said as Harry turned to look at her.

"Yeah but-" He paused. "Oooooh. My emotions are running haywire. I just wish they would come down already … The waiting is killing me." He said as Ginny looked over his shoulder.

"Harry." At first he thought it was Ginny who had spoken, but the voice wasn't hers, nor did it come from her direction. It took him a moment to realize that it was a voice he didn't recognize. And it came from behind him.

Harry slowly turned to see his mother standing in the door way, his father behind her on the stairs on the other side of the hall, seeming to linger behind as if unsure of how to handle the situation. Harry stared at her, his heart clenching in his chest. This was real … this was them … this was ….

"You …" Harry couldn't find the words to say. "You look exactly like you did in your photos." Harry said dumbly. Lily stood there with her hand over her mouth as she edged closer to Harry, tears springing to her eyes.

"Is … Are you really Harry?" Lily asked, still slowly approaching him. James seemed to finally come down the stairs and was now at the doorway Lily had been occupying previously. Harry nodded, his own tears springing to his eyes, though they didn't fall.

"Yeah … Have been for a long time now." He said smiling awkwardly. Lily finally reached him and pulled her hand away from her mouth. She was the same height as him, another thing Harry hadn't realized he'd shared with his mother. She raised her hand to his cheek.

"You look exactly like your father." She said. "I didn't believe it … I didn't want to believe it but … Seeing you … there's no mistaking." She said pulling Harry into a hug. Harry hugged her back feeling his tears finally slip down his cheeks. Ginny quietly left the room for them to have their own personal space. She doubted Harry required her here anymore, but if he did, he could easily find her.

"I'm so sorry my boy." James said approaching them finally. It was hard for him to see his son as an adult … as a grown man when a mere month ago he'd been an infant. But it was him. The eyes proved it. Harry's eyes hadn't changed. And they were exactly Lily's eyes. "I'm so sorry we weren't here for you." He said unable to come any closer. "We should have been … I can't believe we missed so much."

Harry let go of his mom and looked at his father, a small smile on his face. "You have no idea." Minerva came down the stairs and watched the exchange quietly. It had gone a lot better than she had thought it would, but … it would still be a long time to adjust. Harry was a stranger to them, just as they were strangers to Harry.

"Are you guys staying here?" Harry asked. "Who's house is this?"

"Aberforth was kind enough to allow us to stay here for the time being. Until we can find our own place to stay, find our way back into society. It's been difficult to say the least." James said sitting on the couch. "Everything's changed."

Harry nodded. "A lot has changed mostly in the last five years." He said. He sat down on a chair on the opposite side of the coffee table as Lily sat down next to James. "How much have you been told?"

"Everything." Lily said. "Well, perhaps not everything … We were told a little about you … and the outcome of the war. You defeated You-Know-Who."

Harry laughed quietly. "Well, not single handed … I had a lot of help. From a lot of people." He said sadly.

"Can you tell us?" James asked. Harry looked to Minerva who nodded once. Harry told them a rather shortened version of what had happened. About how Voldemort had taken over the ministry, had killed Dumbledore through one of his faithful servants (though he neglected to mention who), how he'd taken over the school. He told them about the search for the horcruxes and the final battle."

"Did we lose many?" James asked, knowing there had to be casualties on both sides. Harry nodded.

"We lost a lot, yes …" Harry said. "Sirius died in my fifth year … Remus and his wife in my seventh. We baby sit their son Teddy a few times a week, he calls me Uncle 'Arry." He said quietly. James leaned forward in his seat and ran his hands through his hair.

Remus and Sirius where dead? "What about Peter?" James asked. Harry looked up at his father surprised that he would even ask him about Peter when he realized that his father didn't remember dying. Or how he died.

"Peter …." Harry hated calling that rat by his first name. "Pettigrew was a traitor. He became a death eater shortly after your graduation out of fear. He killed an innocent boy that went to my school merely because he happened to be there. He was the one that brought Voldemrot back to full power … He's the one that gave Voldemort the opportunity to kill me." James stood up angrily at this.

"That's a lie!" James said. "Peter would never betray us!"

"Unfortunately Mr. Potter, what Harry says is true." Ginny said, Minerva confirming his statement. She'd heard the yelling and came back into the room. "The boy he killed was a seventh year Hufflepuff by the name of Cedric Diggory."

"Cedric?" Lily said. "I know him and his father. Or … knew." She said quietly. "Only a few years older than Harry was. He was a very polite young boy."

James sat back down and leaned against the arm rest, rubbing his hand over his face. "This is insane." He said quietly. Two of his best friends dead, the other a traitor? Next thing Harry was going to tell him was that Snivellus wasn't a Death Eater and became a member of the Order instead. It had to be a load of rubbish.

"I'm sorry." Harry said quietly. They sat in awkward silence for a while before Minerva excused herself, needing to return to the school to take care of Hogwarts business. After a little bit more silence Lily finally spoke again, trying to take some of the tension away.

"So, who's your friend here?" Lily asked. Harry looked confused a moment before he realized she was talking about Ginny.

"Oh, I'm sorry that's rude of me. This is my girlfriend Ginny Weasley." He said as Ginny came over to shake Lily's hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Potter." Ginny said politely before reaching over and shaking James' hand. It took a moment for James to realize that there was a conversation going on and looked up at Ginny as she held her hand out to him.

"Excuse me?" He asked, shaking her hand.

"My name is Ginny." She repeated, understanding that the man had a lot to take in. "It's a pleasure to meet you." She said before moving back. She turned to Harry. "Do you want me to leave you guys alone? I can head back home if you want."

"No it's okay, you can stay." Harry said, though Ginny made no move to sit down.

"Actually, come to think of it, since you're here perhaps I'll head over to St. Mungos." Ginny said, wanting to leave Harry to have some privacy with his parents.

"Why are you-" Harry paused, right … "Oh … yeah, would you mind?" Ginny shook her head as she put her jacket on. "Thanks Gin, I'll owe you one." He said before she quietly left the house. He turned awkward back to his parents, leaning on his knees. "I'm betting you that was just an excuse to leave us alone." He said quietly. They sat in silence once again, none of them really knowing what to say.

James was still reeling over what had happened to his friends, his eyes red and sore from rubbing the tears away and Lily sat in reserved silence, leaving Harry unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry." He said again quietly.

"Stop being sorry Harry, you've done nothing wrong." James said. "We just … missed about twenty years and … it's a lot to take in. A lot of it we knew already but … I didn't know about Sirius, Remus and Peter …" He said leaning back in his chair again. Harry nodded.

"How long will you guys be staying here?" He asked. "You're welcome to come to my house … or I suppose it's your house … since I inherited it from you. I sold the other five houses you own about a year ago, I only have the one left. I'm sorry … I … kind of needed the money after the war hit." Harry didn't really want to tell them what they money was mostly being spent on quite yet … they already had enough to deal with.

"Did you keep the house at Godric's Hollow?" James asked. Harry shook his head. "No, I kept mom's parent's house. The one in Cokeworth. The one in Godric's hollow holds too many bad memories, even if I can't really remember them …"

Lily smiled softly. "Thank you for keeping my parent's house Harry …" She said quietly. James nodded. To him a house was a house, while he enjoyed the house he'd grown up with, he hadn't lived there as an adult and hadn't had any real attachment to it. He could tell Lily cared about her childhood home.

"Perhaps we'll come stay with you Harry. In a while but … for now I think we need some time to adjust." James said. They'd been sitting there for nearly four hours now, after Harry had told them all about the war … none of them seemed to really have noticed how much time had passed.

"This isn't a dream is it?" He asked looking at his mom. "I used to dream a lot, about what it would be like to meet you. I'm still having a hard time knowing this is real." Harry said quietly.

"We're really here Harry. And we aren't going anywhere."

(A/N - alright so there's chapter 2 - people have been asking how Snape factors into this, don't worry he'll be coming within the next few chapters. As always - please leave a review. )


	3. Trying hard to define

Chapter 3

(2 months later)

Lily smiled as she placed her bag on the floor of her old bedroom. It looked much different but at the same time … it was a sense of familiarity for her. She looked around the room, taking it all in. The light pink and white wallpaper had been removed, the walls covered with a coat of off green paint, the single white iron bed replaced with a queen sized wooden framed bed, the white dresser that had been adorned with various stickers had been replaced with a nice mahogany dresser with black drawers. It was nice to see it so transformed. James came in behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Was this your room?" James asked and kissed her neck. Lily smiled and turned her head to look at him.

"It was." She said, enjoying the feeling of his arms around her. "It looked a lot different though. It was a lot more girly. Far more pink and frills." She said laughing as James faked a shudder. She smiled again as she heard Harry and Ginny laughing downstairs. Over the past few months they became a lot more comfortable around each other. It had taken quite a few meetings, and a few outings before they were even able to relax around each other, and a few more after that before the awkward silences stopped. It was right around Christmas last week that things started normalizing. Things became more natural, and Harry had once again offered for them to move in.

"Why don't you go help Harry and Ginny with supper, let me get set up in here." She said turning and kissing him lightly.

"You're just trying to get rid of me aren't you?" James said, tickling her side before stepping away. "Alright. I don't want to sit in here for twenty minutes while you powder your nose anyway." He said with a slight chuckle. Lily picked up one of his shirts off the dresser and whipped it at him jokingly as James left the room.

She heard him walking down the stairs and sat down on the bed. It had been so long since she'd been in this room. Even without the twenty year time gap. Everything had changed. Well … everything but the floor. Lily sat there staring at the hard wood floor. It had been polished and cleaned up, but it was most definitely the same hard wood flooring.

She looked to the corner of the room. "I wonder." She said standing up and closing the door quietly. He could hear James talking to Harry about some wondrous prank he'd pulled off in his days at school and knew he wouldn't be back upstairs. She moved to the corner of the room and sat cross legged in the corner.

She stared at the floor a moment before she moved her hand down to the very corner floor board. Sure enough with a light tug it came loose again, and she pulled it up carefully. Inside the floor board was a very dusty old jewelry box.

Lily smiled. It was a type of time capsule that she'd placed there when she was thirteen, hoping to open it again years later. The thing had been sitting here for almost thirty years. She thought about putting it back to leave it there longer, to wait until she actually grew old but … she couldn't remember what she'd put in there and curiosity got the better of her.

She stood up and moved to the bed, brushing the dust off onto the floor before placing it on top of the blanket. She opened it and smiled softly. Inside it was a bunch of random things … things she had no idea why she'd placed them in there, though she was sure there had been a reason at the time. There was a bouncy ball and a slinky, a piece of yarn, a button that she remembered had fallen off her mother's jacket, a small note that held very little information in it, just what she had done that day (gone to Tuney's ballet practice – apparently it had been particularly boring that day) and …

Lily paused. On the bottom was a photograph. A muggle photograph. Still and unmoving, but in a way Lily found it captured the scene perfectly.

A twelve year old Lily sat on her parents couch, her knees drawn up with a smile on her face, an equally as young Severus Snape sitting on the couch next to her, a look of pure joy on his face. His hand was up in the air and he seemed to be telling her a rather humorous and exciting story. A story he had been so wrapped up in telling her he hadn't even noticed the picture had been taken.

This was her Sev … This was her best friend … but time and circumstance had changed that. Beliefs and politics came between them … They had fallen out in their fifth year, just as everyone had said they would. No matter how many times they had assured the other they would be friends forever …. Forever never happened.

She felt her eyes water. This was her happy Sev … The Sev she would never see again … The Sev she had a hard time remembering sometimes. It was hard not to envision him in his final years in school. With his Death Eater buddies.

She briefly wondered where he was now … probably either dead or in Azkaban. She'd thought about asking Harry before but … she doubted he even knew who he was.

She pulled the picture up to her chest, the picture clenched in her hands ready to tear it in half but she paused and looked back down at it, the picture now slightly bent. No, she couldn't do it. This was her happy Sev … She couldn't destroy that.

She placed the picture and the objects back in the box and placed it back under the floor board before she headed back downstairs for supper.

(Awwwww isn't that sweet. Anyway – another chapter – hope you all enjoyed. And as always, please leave a review.)


	4. Heaven from Hell

((A/N - I wasn't going to upload until next week buuuuut it's new years in about half an hour so what the hell ... Hope you all don't hate me for this.

I got a few questions regarding if others will be coming back to life - not likely in the span of time this fanfic takes place, but it will be explained later in the story just why they came back. As for Remus and Tonks, unfortunately they won't be coming back ever because they died in an explosion to the best of my knowledge. Unless I'm incorrect about that ... now I'm second guessing myself ... I'll have to go research that now ... So maybe ... Anyway, on with the story.))

Chapter 4

Lily lay awake in bed, her husband snoring loudly beside her on the bed. She looked at him a moment before turning over and staring at the floor where her jewelry box sat under the floorboard.

Twenty years … twenty years was a long time. She heard footsteps on the stairs, and a moment later the clinking of dishes in the kitchen below. She had to know … She sat up from the bed, quiet not to wake James and quietly got dressed.

Once downstairs, she reached the kitchen. "I was hoping it was you down here." She said. Harry jumped in shock and nearly dropped the glass he was holding.

"Mom. You scared me." He said as she moved towards the kitchen island.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to wake anyone else up." She said sitting down at the island. "I wanted to … to ask you a question. I doubt you'd know the answer but … I have to know. I want to find someone that would know."

Harry filled his glass with water and came and sat down at the kitchen table. This was clearly something that had been eating at her for a while.

"What is it?" Harry asked, setting his glass down.

"I was wondering if …. If by any chance … you know a man named Severus Snape." She asked. Harry wondered if she'd ever ask about him. After all they had been friends for years, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for her to be curious about what happened to him.

"I do, actually." He said, Lily looking up at him in surprise.

"You do, do you … know what happened to him?" Lily asked. Harry looked down at his glass and nodded.

"I do." He said quietly, his voice sounding rather strained and a bit sorrowful. "I met him for the first time when I was eleven. My first year at Hogwarts. He taught Potions there, he started teaching shortly after my first birthday. Before you and dad … died." He said quietly.

"But … he was a Death Eater." Lily said, though she never knew for sure if Severus had become one, it was clear where his path was headed.

Harry nodded. "He was …" He said as Lily looked away in shame.

"So he managed to trick Dumbledore then? Managed to spy for you-know-who." Lily said disgusted. She couldn't believe she actually asked about him.

"That was the intention yes … but not why he was hired. He didn't get the job when he'd gotten the interview. It wasn't until months later that he got the job. When you were targeted." Lily looked back up at Harry.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

"Who do you think told Dumbledore you were being targeted?" Harry asked. "Snape told Dumbledore you were in danger … he put himself in mortal danger to save you. To be honest he frankly didn't care what happened to me or dad but … in the end he convinced Dumbledore to protect all three of us … in exchange for Severus' undying loyalty."

Lily looked at Harry confused. It couldn't be as simple as Harry made it out to be. "After you had died, Snape wanted to kill himself. He didn't want to live with the guilt … He was the one that brought the prophesy to Voldemort, you see. I don't think he thought he'd take it seriously. But he did." Harry said. "Dumbledore convinced Snape to atone for his mistakes, instead of taking the easy way out …. And he became a puppet. A pawn in Dumbledore's chess game. He provided valuable information to the order, while providing little to no information, or lies, to Voldemort himself.

"Snape lied to Voldemort's face. He lived many years undergoing pain and torture, constantly living in fear that he could be killed at any moment. I think at that point he didn't really care about the goals and beliefs of either side, but … he fought for ours."

"Why?" Lily asked. This was all so confusing. This wasn't the Sev she'd come to know in those final years.

"Because he loved you." He said quietly. "Ever since he saw you in that park, he loved you … I think it was because you were really the only person in the world that seemed to care about him. He made a huge mistake, as many teenage boys do, but spent the rest of his life atoning for it." He said looking up at Lily who had tears springing to her eyes.

"So … he's dead then?" Lily asked. "He … didn't make it through the war?" She looked up at Harry who shook his head.

"No, he's still alive. Sort of." He said quietly. "He's been in a coma for the past four and a half years. He's at St. Mongo's hospital. They're doing everything they can to get rid of him. It's why me and my friends have been taking it in turns to go see him at least once a day throughout the week. It's where I'm headed to in a bit actually."

"Why does someone have to go see him once a day?" She asked, wondering why that sounded like a necessity.

"Well, one because we don't want to break a pattern out of someone going to see him. He has no friends or family to visit so we make it a point to do so …. And the healers there refuse to treat him if they think they can get away with it. They don't condone helping death eaters." He said drinking his water. "The first week he was there I had to fight with the doctors to even help him, threatened to take them to court if they didn't. We left him there for a week on his own and when we came back to visit him … it was outrageous." He said sounding rather upset and angry. "They'd left him in his room with nothing but his IV … He almost died again because of that. The doctors and nurses who were supposed to be caring from them have all been removed from their jobs, I made sure of that … but we make it a point to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"That's horrible." Lily said. This was a lot of information to take in. Severus had switched sides, had been fighting on their side for years, even before she'd died … twenty years of pain and torture as Harry had said. And he had no friends or family. "Did he never have any friends on our side? Did he never marry?"

Harry shook his head again. "No. He was so in love with you … and so guilt ridden over being the cause of your death … I don't think he had the capability of moving on. And he … well … he did something terrible … to keep up appearances of being a death eater, no one really knew the truth of him until after we all thought him dead. Turns out, the man's stubbornness applied to that too. The man could be ridiculously stubborn … I'm sure you knew that. Death isn't taking him until he's good and ready. The confusing thing is … why he's in a coma. The doctor's say there's no rational reason he should be. His entirely healthy, his brain functioning normally … he's just … not waking up. The doctors for a while thought he was faking it. Tried testing it rather cruelly by jabbing a needle into his foot but … no reaction."

Lily couldn't believe all of this. This was … insane. Severus couldn't have been … he'd never shown any signs … there … well …. Lily sighed. Looking back she supposed it made sense. The way he'd followed her every direction, did almost everything she requested of him … That faraway look he got whenever she'd called Potter a toe rag.

"Can I come with you?" She asked. Harry looked up at her as he was standing from his chair.

"Come wi-" He hadn't been expecting her to ask that. "I … don't see why not. It's rather boring really but … Yeah. I suppose you could." He said. "Go get dressed, we'll leave in a bit."

(A/N – And there you have it – That's what happened to Snape. Please don't hate me ... at least he's not dead! As always please please please review.)


	5. Standing out in the rain

Chapter 5

Harry nodded to the woman at the receptions desk. It had been years since Harry had to sign in, since everyone at the hospital knew who he was anyway. The woman said nothing as Lily walked by with Harry.

Lily paused by the door as Harry was about to step into Snape's room, looking as if she was having second thoughts. "I …" Harry paused and looked back at her. She could hear the steady beeping of a heart monitor coming from inside the room. Not electronic, but magical, similar to a muggle one, but the beep was a bit different. Hearing the sound was rather … off putting.

She'd remembered once when she was young … when Severus was just thirteen … They had dropped Severus off at home after school had ended, and two days later he'd come crawling up to their door bleeding and barely conscious … Lily remembered what it was like sitting in that hospital room, her unconscious friend laying in the hospital bed hooked up to IV's and machines of all sorts. She remembered being thirteen and over hearing the doctors telling her parents that he might not make it.

Severus had pulled through of course but … That image had always stayed with her. Now … hearing the heart monitors again ….

"I don't think I can do this Harry." She said, not feeling particularly brave at the moment. Harry looked back at her and placed his hand on her arm reassuringly.

"It's okay … I'm here with you … It'll be fine." He said softly. Lily took a deep breath and nodded, feeling like with every small step she took she'd flee. And she wasn't even sure why. Was it because she was scared of what state he'd be in? Was she scared of seeing him again? Was she scared he'd be awake now and would see her? Was she scared that she'd walk into the room and she'd see her thirteen year old best friend covered in bruises and welts, recently cleaned of the blood that had been all over his face?

"Come on." Harry said gently as he stepped into the room, the door openly quietly. Lily stepped into the room, staring at the floor, her hands shaking slightly. It was a moment later that she finally looked up. Severus lay in the bed, looking extremely sick. His skin was as pale as the white sheets he lay on, his face looking years older than it should. It showed the marks of stress and fear, rather than the marks of time. She came a little closer into the room, still a few feet away from the bed.

His hair was cut short, his hair greying at the temples. He looked so old for someone who should still be quite young. She barely paid any attention as Harry crossed the room to the other side of the bed, and it was then that she noticed someone else was in the room.

A young girl, about her age (well, her age in appearance, as Lily hadn't aged at all since she'd died). The girl had frizzy curly brown hair, and wore a grey jumper and muggle blue jeans. The girl was fast asleep in a chair nearby Severus' bed, her head resting against the arm of the chair. A large book was in her lap, laying open in her hands and a brief glance showed her that it was a records book of some kind.

"Hermione." Harry said quietly, shaking her arm. This must be Harry's best friend Hermione then … Lily hadn't met her yet. It seemed every time there was an opportunity to meet her, suddenly Hermione's plans had changed. "Hermione wake up." He said quietly shaking her again. Hermione groaned and slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Harry.

"Harry, what are you doing here?" She asked rubbing her eyes, the book nearly falling from her hands, but she placed a firmer grip on it with her free hand.

"It's my day to check on him. Have you been here all night?" Harry asked. Hermione looked over at Snape who was in the exact same position he had been when she'd fallen asleep.

"Yeah … I suppose. I spent a good few hours just thinking … watched him breath … Ginny brought me this yesterday. I had a hard time getting a hold of it, I'm hoping to do a bit of research on the killing curse. I think I may have a theory on what happened to your parents but nothing-" She paused when she saw Lily standing quietly on the other side of the room, her green eyes trained on Severus, a look of worry on her face. "What's she doing here?" Hermione asked.

"She wanted to see him. I told her-"

Hermione turned to him. "How much did you tell her?!" Hermione asked, suddenly completely awake and seeming rather upset.

"I …" Harry was confused by Hermione's sudden outburst. "I told her everything. From what he'd done to how he redeemed himself. It's okay Hermione it's-"

"No it bloody well is not okay! That was not your information to give out Harry! You shouldn't even know that information the only reason you know it is because he was dying when he gave it to you. He gave it to you by accident … he had no control over that and it was NOT your place to go and tell HER!" Hermione said snapping the records book shut.

"Hermione- Please if you'd just calm down-"

"Don't tell me to calm down Harry, she has no right to be here!" Hermione said angrily. "I know she used to be his best friend but she walked away from him when they were fifteen! He suffered for nearly seventeen years because of her, possibly longer, he's more than atoned for what he did."

"I didn't walk away from Sev-"

"Yes! You did!" Hermione said turning to her. She knew Lily was important to Harry, she understood that. But right now this was about Severus.

"He called me-"

"A mudblood I know! And he apologized!" Hermione said as Lily started looking angry at this woman Harry spoke so highly of. "If you had actually spent a fraction of a moment paying any attention to your supposed "best friend" do you really think he'd have ended up in the same place he did? I'm not saying the blame isn't on him, he's made mistakes and he, more than anyone, knows that …. But you are the one that walked away from him … Now that you know what he's gone through, how much he's suffered, how much he's done for your son … now you come back?"

"Hermione, she's kind of been dead for twenty years."

"And never once spoke to him before that …. How many times did he try to rekindle your friendship? How many times did you turn him down? How many times before that when you were friends, did you blow him off for your other friends? How many times did you make him feel less significant than your other friends? You had to have seen how much he liked you … even if you were so clearly blind to how much he loved you …."

"But he-"

"Mrs. Potter." She said accentuating her last name. " … you're both at fault in your friendship breaking, but you're the one who would not give him a second chance. Even Dumbledore saw that he deserved one. He was a good man, and you were too blind to see that." She said standing up from her chair. She was too furious at Lily, and this was the exact reason she had been avoiding meeting her. She was too angry. "I can tell you that despite the fact Draco Malfoy has been calling me Mudblood for years, and we were never friends, we still managed to work things out between us. We work in the same department at the Ministry … We have lunch together every other day … Even Harry gets along with him now. If two school rivals can put that aside, I see no reason why two best friends aren't able to." She said as Lily looked down at the floor. She'd seen Snape suffer too much, seen too much of his life to know exactly what he'd been through …

"Hermione, I think you should leave." Harry said quietly. "Go home, get some sleep."

Hermione turned to Harry ready to have a few choice words with him but she stopped. "Fine … I don't want to be here anymore anyway. I'll be back tomorrow." She said stomping out of the room, her book in her hand. Lily looked back up at Harry as he sat down where Hermione had been sleeping.

"I'm really sorry for that … I don't know what's gotten into her. She's been so …. Emotional about everything, especially things regarding Severus." He said looking at the man in the bed. "She's learned so much about him these past few years I think she's come to care for him quite a bit. I'd hate to see his reaction to that if he wakes up." Harry said with a half-smile. "Please don't take to heart anything she said. She's been working rather hard and staying up odd hours, and …. She's here more often than not lately. She's exhausted. She's usually not like that. She actually is doing thorough research on how you guys came back to life … I think it's just stress talking."

Lily sat down on the chair on the other side of Severus' bed and sighed, looking at Severus' sleeping face.

"In a way she's right." Lily said causing Harry to look at her in surprise. "I didn't treat him the way I did my other friends. When we were kids our friendship was great, he was my best friend. He was the one that introduced me to magic … told me about Hogwarts … showed me that I wasn't a freak as my sister said. But … when we got to school … we were sorted into different houses. I made friends in my own house, he made friends in his …. And we slowly started drifting apart. Our friendship in our fifth year was fine … and I'm sure it would have been fine had I forgiven him … I was ready to forgive him when he'd come to the portrait hole but …. My mind was on my other friends … I was tired of fighting with them. They made fun of him all the time, and bugged me about hanging around with him and … for me it was just easier to cut off the friendship. Him calling me a mudblood was the perfect opportunity for me to do so." Lily said tears springing to her eyes. "I never agreed with who his friends where in Slytherin, he was becoming a death eater and I hated it …. There's been many times even after I married James that I thought about going to him and apologizing for not accepting his apology, to talk to him about the path he was on and … try to do something I should have done years ago. To try to pull him away from that. But I never had the guts too. I figured he would have moved on by then … I thought he would have been a death eater by then. I never would have imagined that Severus would have been the one we could trust and Peter was the one that had betrayed us."

Harry nodded. He couldn't even imagine what it would be like if his best friend betrayed him like that. If Ron had betrayed him and Draco Malfoy had been the one to try to save his life. What a topsy turvy world that would have been.

"I had always thought you'd try to talk him out of becoming a death eater." Harry said. Lily shook her head.

"No … I just told him I didn't like his friends … I knew he was trying to become a death eater, and there have been so many times I felt like I should have talked to him." She looked at his sleeping form and shook her head. "After learning all he'd done …. He deserves so much better than what he got." She said gently taking his hand.

She jumped unexpectedly and looked down as Severus' fingers tightened just slightly around her hand. She'd been so startled that she'd pulled her hand away.

"Harry he … he moved." Lily said looking down at Severus' hand. Harry stood up and came over to where she was sitting. "I took his hand and … he moved. He grasped my hand … not hard but …. Just lightly." She said moving her hand back again. She took his hand again, but Severus' didn't move again. His hand remained as limp and still as it ever had.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked. "Where you maybe mistaking it? Maybe you just thought he did because you put your hand in his?" Harry asked, though he hoped it were true. Snape hadn't moved an inch other than his slow breathing since he'd been placed here nearly four years ago.

"I'm positive." She said.

"Hold on I'll go get a healer." Harry said leaving the room. Lily grasped Severus' hand again, talking about random things, hoping he'd move again. She hated seeing him like this … she wanted to speak to him more than anything.

"Severus … Severus if you can hear me move your hand again." She said quietly. "Severus it's Lily … Lily Po - …. Lily Evans …. Severus … please wake up." She said shaking his hand slightly. There was still no response.

A few moments later the healer came in and spent the next few minutes running tests on Severus, waving his wand over the man.

"If he had moved there would have been a slight spike in his vitals at that time … his vitals haven't changed at all within the past hour. Perhaps it was simply a muscle spasm. I don't think anyone had touched him there in a while … it might have just been his muscles reacting." The healer said. Lily looked back at Severus and laid his hand back down on the bed. She'd been so hopeful.

It was hard seeing him like this, she couldn't imagine coming here multiple times a week for nearly four years.

Lily and Harry stayed there for a few hours, talking about the past, Lily telling him a few stories about herself and Sev when they were just kids, nothing personal just things they used to do together. Around noon Harry and Lily went back home since Harry had to start work around one.

((A/N - cranky Hermione is cranky - please leave a review))


	6. With just one shadow

Chapter 6

Harry walked into Number 12 Grimmauld Place, warding the door behind him. The entire house was dark except for a single light coming from the kitchen. Harry walked down the kitchen stairs and into the kitchen itself.

"I figured I'd fine you here." Harry said as Hermione looked up from the record book. "I think we need to talk." Hermione sighed and marked the page she was on and closed the book.

"Look Harry … I'm sorry about how I reacted … I shouldn't have freaked out on your mother the way I did, it wasn't fair. I'm just … stressed out and … I've been thinking a lot about what happened to Snape and … It just came out. I'll apologize to her when I see her again."

Harry sat down at the table across from her. "I know you're under a lot of stress. I wasn't expecting you to be there. I wish you would have talked to me beforehand instead of avoiding our invitations over …"

"I know but … I don't know … I don't know why I was so upset it's just …." She rubbed her temples.

"You care about him." Harry said. "I understand … Mistakes were made in the past by both of them and-"

"Severus will accept her apology whether she deserves it or not." Hermione said crossing her arms over her chest. "It's not fair to him …. He's done so much more for her than she can imagine and she won't have to do a damn thing but exist for him to accept her apology. If she even gives him one."

"I think it would be good for him, to have some happiness in his life." Harry said standing to go make some tea.

"Is that what he'll get when he wakes up?" She asked. "Happiness? She's married to your father, he'll never be able to move on … He deserves to find someone who will make him happy Harry."

"So what? She shouldn't have come back?" Harry asked, sounding rather upset at the thought. "It's not like anyone could control that. Besides, Snape's not even awake. The doctors say he might never wake up … so it won't be an issue."

"And I suppose that makes it easier hmmm? If he doesn't wake up, that would just solve everyone's problems." She said her voice raising. "You wouldn't have to worry about making a case to defend him at the Wizengamot, Kingsley won't have to worry about sentencing him, Lily wouldn't have to worry about apologizing, I wouldn't have to worry about him trailing after her like a lost puppy, and everyone moves on with their lives. Everyone but him."

Harry sighed and placed the cup he'd pulled out of the cupboard on the counter a little harder than he had intended too.

"That's not what I'm saying at all! You know I hope he wakes up, if I didn't want him too I wouldn't bother going to see him three times a week. I care about him too Hermione, but this is something we're all going to have to deal with … you don't know Lily, and you don't know how either of them will react if and when he wakes up …." He said pouring his tea and sitting back at the table. "Look Hermione …. I know it's a difficult situation, and it's new for everyone but …. This is my mother! And my father! I would have done anything to get them back, and now they are back …"

Hermione looked down at her book and took a huge breath. "I know …. I know I'm sorry. I'm just …. This scares me." Hermione said. "She didn't deserve anything I said …. Well …. Not entirely. If she did it wasn't my place to voice it." She looked up at Harry apologetically. "If you're willing to forgive me, I'll extend an invitation to you and your family for dinner tomorrow."

Harry smiled softly and nodded. "Of course I forgive you. I think we've all said something we regret in the past. Will Ron be there?"

"I doubt it. He hasn't been around much lately. We've … we've been fighting." Harry looked down at the table and nodded.

"He told me you two where having … difficulty." He said making Hermione chuckle almost bitterly.

"Is that how he phrased it?" Hermione asked. "He told me I'm becoming too obsessed with a man who might as well be dead. He doesn't understand Harry … He tells me I don't spend enough time at home. That I spend too much time at work or at St. Mungos. Did he tell you he wanted to talk about the future?" Hermione asked shaking her head. "He wants to have kids … I'm not ready for that and when I tried to tell him so he just … wouldn't listen. He wants me to quit my job … He wants to have a stay at home wife … He wants to have a large family like he had but …. I don't think I can do that Harry. And it's been …. It's been hard talking to him about it …."

Harry shook his head, fiddling with the cup in his hands. "You two are very different people. As much as I'd like to see you two together, it seems like you two want very different things. Is there no way of compromising? Both me and Ginny are planning on having children, and both of us are planning on leading a career. Maybe if I talked to him …"

"Could you? Maybe he'll listen to you. I love him Harry, I do but … it's just so hard sometimes … it's like one moment he's the caring boyfriend I always dreamed he'd be, and listen to everything I'd say, and then the next he's not listening to anything I say and only focused on what he wants … Like he's trying to shape me into the girlfriend he wants."

"Well, I wouldn't suggest quitting your job, you enjoy it too much. But I would suggest you maybe request a vacation. You haven't had a break since you started there. I think you've earned enough vacation time, and perhaps a little step back will help you out. You seem a bit stressed … I think lately we all are."

"I think that's a good idea Harry … Maybe I'll request a week or two off …. Maybe then I can focus on this." She said gesturing at the book. "I'm off tomorrow so supper will be at five, if your parents accept." Hermione said as Harry finished off his tea.

"I'll let them know. And I'll talk to my mother as well." Harry said taking his mug to the sink. "Will you be seeing Snape tomorrow? Or should I have Ginny go? I have to work early tomorrow."

"I'll go. I'd like to get some reading done anyway." She said. "Maybe I'll bring something to read to him."

((A/N – Aaaaand another chapter. I hope you're all enjoying this. Please R&R))


	7. Nothing to see or believe

Dinner with Harry and his family had gone decently. Though Hermione didn't apologize for her behavior, both her and Lily remained … civil … towards each other, and luckily it hadn't been too awkward. Lily had told James about Severus being in the hospital and apparently at first hadn't cared, which irked Hermione to no end, but Harry had told his father everything Snape had done for him, and though James didn't like it …. He gained a small respect for the man lying in the hospital. Though she doubted that would mean he would be willing to put aside old rivalries so easily.

Hermione lay in bed on her stomach as she thumbed through the records book, making more notes on a pad of paper with a ball point pen. Hermione filled the third page and skimmed over he notes. It was making more and more sense, this latest discovery made sure of it. She got up from the bed and, despite the late hour, ran downstairs to floo Harry.

"Harry …. Harry wake up!" She said through the floo network. "Harry come over I have news!"

A few moments later Harry moved downstairs and sat in front of the floo. "What is it Hermione. It's almost midnight."

"I have an explanation!" Hermione said excitedly.

"Waking me up at near midnight, I'd hope so." Harry said sounding a bit annoyed.

"No, I mean I have an explanation as to how your parents came back to life!" Hermione said. There was silence on the other end, Harry seeming stunned by this news. "Can I come over?"

"What's going on Harry?" Hermione heard James talking from the other side of the floo network.

"Come on over Hermione." Harry said, stepping away from the floo. "Dad, go wake up Mom. Hermione has news on how you guys … came back to life, so to speak." He said as Hermione came through the floo network.

James rubbed his eyes and nodded going back upstairs to get Lily. Despite being so tired, they all wanted to know how it had happened.

Lily came down looking a lot more awake than James and Harry did, she hadn't been able to fall asleep yet and had still been awake when James had gone down stairs to find out what all the commotion was about.

"What's going on?" Lily asked as Hermione sat down at the couch, flipping her notebook and records book open.

"I had a theory before on how you guys had come back based on some research I was doing. I'm now sure about it. There can't be any other explanation." She said flipping a few pages of the book. There were pages marked with sticky tabs throughout the book.

"This book is a records book, documenting every which and wizard that had died over the past seven hundred years. It took some strings to get it and I was surprised I was even able too. Look here …. July 19th, 1302 David Hansbrook killed by the killing curse." She said before pulling out another book which had scrap pieces of paper in it. She flipped it open. It looked like utter chaos, but Hermione seemed to know exactly where to go. "July 19th, 1322 his grave was reported to have been robbed, and his bones were missing. No traces of what had happened to him where found. David Hansbrook was buried with his wand.

"August 4th, 1387, Trina Newfield was killed by the killing curse." She said flipping in the other book to another page. "August 4th, 1407, her grave was seemingly robbed, her remains gone and never found. She was also buried with her wand.

"January 30th, 1422, Richard Hoskins was killed by the killing curse. January 30th, 1442, his grave was entirely destroyed, nothing remained of it, and his body was never recovered. He was buried with his wand.

"October 1st, 1534, Cyril Addams, killed by killing curse. Grave was robbed on October 1st, 1554, buried with his wand. Can you guess what happened to the remains?"

"Missing?" Harry asked, easily catching the pattern.

"August 20th, 1602, William Pratt, killed by the killing curse. August 20th, 1622, Grave was presumed robbed, he was buried with his wand, remains where never found."

"So what's the connection?" James asked pulling her notebook closer to him to look at the dates and names she'd written down. "There's so many of them …." He said. The dates ranged from 1302 to the early 1900's.

"These people's remains all went missing exactly 20 years after they died. To the day. The only ones on record for grave robbings were the ones buried with their wands. I took further research on the matter. Out of all the people killed by the killing curse, the ones here listed where the ONLY ones buried with their wands."

"But look here further still. 1602, William Pratt's wife, Cecile Pratt and their two grown daughters go missing within days of the graves robbery. Months later a family by the exact same description appear in America, with a young man that was at the time described as the two girls brother.

"It all makes sense doesn't it?" Hermione said excitedly but everyone looked at her blankly. "Oh honestly!" She complained. "The killing curse doesn't kill you …. It's a form of a stasis curse! It lasts exactly twenty years to the day and then is removed on its own." She said finally seeing some comprehension on Harry's face.

"Do you know what this means Harry?" Hermione said excitedly. Harry looked up at her.

"It means we didn't lose as many people as we thought we did." Harry said. "We just need to find the correct time and date and notify the Ministry. They'll wake up again!"

"And it also means that Snape didn't actually kill Dumbledore!" Hermione said, thinking nothing of the statement.

"What?!" James practically bellowed. Hermione looked at James stunned a moment, before turning to Harry.

"You didn't tell them?!" She asked. Harry shrugged.

"I uh …. Well it sort of slipped my mind." Harry said. "I told them Snape would have a court case after he woke up but uh …. Sort of neglected to tell them why."

"Oh honestly Harry!" She said, looking at James and Lily who looked both stunned and furious. "It's really a long story. Severus is innocent." She said as James sat back in his couch, still not looking convinced. She told them all about Voldemorts plot to have Draco Malfoy kill Dumbledore. About how Dumbledore had made a plan to have Severus do it, to ensure that Voldemort would not have his wand, and to ensure Snape's place inside the school where he could protect the children.

"He could have refused." James said angrily.

"Don't you see? There was no choice! Dumbledore would have died either way, whether it be by Snape's hand, Malfoy's hand, Bellatrix or Fenrir, Dumbledore was as good as dead. If it wasn't for Severus Dumbledore would have died nearly a year before! Had he not killed Dumbledore he would not have been placed at the school, Voldemort would have called him away. Would have questioned his loyalties … the death eaters WOULD have had FULL run of the school and a lot more students would have been tortured or worse … killed, simply for being muggle born. Ginny and our friend Neville during Snape's time as headmaster had even broken into his office, stolen the sword of Gryffindor and was caught by Snape. While the death eaters where there, punishment for theft of a teacher was punishable by the criciatus curse, and detention with the Carrows, which was not a fun event I promise you that. Snape did neither! He sent them for detention with Hagrid! Hagrid!" She said.

"They could have compromised Dumbledore's whole plan by stealing that sword, and he only gave them detention with Hagrid. Which at the time was a reprieve, not a punishment! He didn't WANT to kill Dumbledore …. If he had had a choice he would have chosen not to. But he had no choice! A lot more people would have died had he not."

Harry put his hand on Hermione's arm to stop her. "Dumbledore isn't dead though, is he?" Harry asked. "His body is still in its tomb on the island by Hogwarts. He'll wake up in about fifteen years. Snape killed him with the killing curse …. So …. If we can convince the Ministry of this, then we might be able to clear his name before he even wakes up." Harry said with a grin.

James stood up and moved across the room, heading towards the stairs to go back to bed. He'd heard more than enough.

Lily looked down at the files. Severus killed Dumbledore …. Even if they knew now that he wasn't really dead, Severus had used the killing curse on Dumbledore with the apparent knowledge that Dumbledore would die. She knew Harry said he hadn't wanted to do it but …. She was torn between hating him for doing it and feeling pity for him … for being forced to kill the only man who had given him a second chance. To kill the only man who had ever truly trusted him. To willingly put himself in a position where the people he was fighting for would be fighting against him every step of the way. How lonely he must have been that last year.

"I'm going to head back to bed as well." He said turning her eyes away from the documents.

"Yeah." Harry agreed. "Hermione, you should go home and get some sleep. We'll get together tomorrow after I'm off work, compile a list of the people who died in the war, and within the last 20 years from the killing curse." He said, saying nothing about Snape. He could tell it was clearly upsetting both of his parents.

"Mrs. Potter." Hermione said. Lily stopped on the stairs and turned to her. "I'm really sorry I had brought it up like that. If I knew you didn't know, I would have explained first instead of shocking you both like that. I had no idea."

Lily nodded. "It's okay." She said. "It's just … a lot to think about." She said before heading up the stairs.

((A/N – and there's … chapter …. Whatever chapter this is …. I've written so much the past two weeks I've lost track of what I'm doing …. What am I doing? Where am I? What is this? What is that? What are those?))


	8. Beyond myself

March

Hermione sat quietly in the hospital room staring at Snape's still form. Padded footsteps and quiet chatter filtered through the door into the room, the only sound besides the quiet beeping of Snape's heart monitor.

She sighed as she leaned on her hand, her elbow on the arm of the chair. "Why aren't you waking up?" She asked. She had finished yet another novel, the third this week. She was running out of books she thought he might like. "What is keeping you from waking up?"

She suddenly had the absurd image of sleeping beauty being woken up by the prince. She shook her head and looked away from him. She doubted it would be as simple as that. Besides ... the fairy tale required true loves kiss ... And Hermione was pretty sure while Snape as inarguably in love with Lily, she doubted Lily loved him back. At least ... not in that way.

She sighed again as she leaned forward, her hand reaching forward, and grasping his hand. Harry had told her of how he had moved when Lily touched her hand and it had filled her with a strong sense of jealousy. It was her who sat at his bed side waiting for him to wake up, her sitting here reading to him, spending hours of her time with him ... she came in for less than a minute and Snape moved at a mere touch?

Hermione looked at his hand and shook her head. It was ridiculous to harbour these feelings, the man had no control over what he responded too. The doctor had just said it was a muscle spasm, but it was odd that it had never happened before or after.

"Miss. Granger." A nurse said knocking quietly on the door. She poked her head in as Hermione pulled her hand away and busied herself with collecting the book on the night stand. The nurse smiled softly and stepped into the room. "I do apologize for the intrusion. But visiting hours are over." She said. "We don't want you falling asleep again." She said her smile widening slightly. "I don't think it was very good for your back. You should go home and get some sleep." She said as Hermione nodded, standing up with her copy of Alice in Wonderland in her hand.

"I should. You're right." She said. "Thank you for telling me. I hadn't realized the time." She said heading towards the door. The nurse moved to the end of the bed and picked up the clip board on the end of the bed so that she could check his stats.

"He's very lucky." The nurse said suddenly making Hermione turn to look at her. "Others come to visit him but never for more than an hour ... He's lucky to have you coming to see him so much." Hermione smiled softly and nodded.

"Thank you." She said. "Do you ... Do you think he can hear me? When I read to him?" The nurse took a deep breath as she turned to Hermione.

"Do you wish to hear the truth?" The nurse asked. Hermione immediately nodded. "It's doubtful." She said. "Though I would never tell you to stop reading to him. I think it helps you ... and I think it will help him more than you think." She said turning back to Snape to check his stats. Hermione nodded slightly and headed out the door to go back home.

((A/N – Really short chapter guys. I wasn't going to upload one at all but I figured I'd give you guys something. I'm still working out the kinks on this story – I'm not 100% sure where it's going or where it's going to end up. I have a vague idea but …. Until I work out the immediate details, we'll see what's going on …. Anyway despite it being a short chapter please leave a review and by all means review with any ideas you guys have. If it doesn't conflict with the ideas I already want to run with I may use them.))


	9. I see my life going by

((A/N – Alright so I wasn't going to post a chapter tonight but I flubbed and accidentally posted a chapter from my other fanfic into this one *it was bound to happen at some point – I have so many of the things going on at the same time I don't know up from down anymore – So here's a short chapter in the mean time because you guys got alerted to a new chapter and as much as I wasn't planning on it – I goofed so …. Chapter 9!))

((Three months later))

Harry rubbed his hands over his face as he entered the room, the quiet beeping of Severus' heart monitor the only sound coming from the room. He looked at Lily and Hermione who sat on either side of the bed, Hermione reading a book quietly, Lily looking up at Harry as he came in.

Hermione looked up at him. "How did the court case go?" She asked, closing the book quietly.

"Not very well. Until they have definitive proof that the killing curse doesn't actually kill people, they are considering Severus guilty, it's their final ruling." Harry said with a sigh as he sat down in a chair next to his mom. "Kingsley told me even if they took into consideration that Dumbledore would come back, they'd still convict him for attempted murder. Which is still quite a few years in Azkaban." He said shaking his head. "They're firm in wanting to convict him ..."

"If me and James-" Lily said quietly before Harry cut her off.

"It wouldn't make a bit of difference if you two appeared in court. They know you're alive, and they know the theories ... they're doing little to get involved with you two, and you weren't there the night Dumbledore was killed." He looked over at Lily. "Besides, I doubt dad would want to 'waste his time' as he'd already said on multiple occasions." He said. Over the past three months he'd tried to get James to stand in front of the wizengamot so that they could see for themselves that James Potter and Lily Potter where indeed alive.

"We'll figure something out Harry." Hermione said placing the book on the side table. "I'll talk to Minerva and Filius about standing ... they where at the school the final year Snape was there. There has to be some way to clear his name. He may not be completely inncocent, but he was more of a victim than anything."

Harry nodded. "I know ... It's rediculous that they're allowing this to go on for so long. Kingsley is on my side, he believes Snape is innocent, it's a matter of convincing the rest of the wisengamot. And everyone is firm in their belief of Snape's guilt. They're allowing their own pain of losing Dumbledore to cloud the facts and are trying to sentence a ... well ... mostly, innocent man."

"It's not fair." Hermione said crossing her arms over her chest. Harry laughed slightly. "What?"

"Nothing it's just ... when you said that it made me think about when Snape tried teaching me occlumency. What a disaster that was ... I was complaining that he wasn't giving me time to prepare, that it wasn't fair ... He rather rudely told me that 'life isn't fair.' ... It's probably one of the things that stuck with me from that lesson."

"Sounds like him." Lily said with a slight smirk. "He was never very polite, but that's just his personality. It's not that he's purposely rude, he's just blunt and straight to the point." Lily saw a slight movement out of the corner of her eye and looked towards Severus. He hadn't moved at all but … it seemed …

She looked down to where his hand was and blanked. "I think he just moved." Lily said before his hand moved again. It moved closer to the edge of the bed, closer to where her voice was coming from. His hand reached the edge of the bed and stopped moving again.

"Professor?" Hermione asked from his other side. "Harry go get a healer … Tell them we all saw him move!" Harry nodded and ran from the room to get a healer. Lily took Severus' hand and despite the progress Severus was making Hermione could help the clutching pain in her chest building up, the raw jealousy that that it was her he'd reached for … her voice that had gotten a response from him. He'd moved twice, and both times it was when she was talking and his hand had moved in her direction.

Still …. Progress was progress … and if it brought him out of the coma so be it. But …. At the same time Hermione couldn't help the way she felt. She backed away as the healer came in. He calm in calmly as he started doing his scans of the patient.

"There's a slight spike in his stats here." The healer said. "Once here, and once a few seconds later …" He said chewing on the tip of his quill. "It doesn't seem like anything definitive but we'll run some further tests." He said rather mechanically. Harry could tell this was one of the healers that didn't like Severus. Lily sighed and let go of his hand before sitting down again.

Hermione let go of the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and looked away from her. She couldn't understand why this was bothering her so much …. They were old friends but … She felt tears prick at her eyes as she picked up her bag.

"I think I'm going to head home." She said not looking at either of them. Harry looked at her and saw the tears in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked as she walked past him to the door.

"I'm fine." She said as she reached the door. She felt Harry's hand on her arm a moment before she pulled her arm away. She looked up at him. "Really, I'm fine I'm just … frustrated is all. And tired. It's been a rollercoaster this past little while."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I understand that." He said quietly. "Have a good night Hermione." He said before she left without another word.

((A/N – And emotional Hermione is emotional. Please leave a review – It's greatly appreciated))


	10. Each moment I'm alive

((Alright that A/N chapter I posted – was removed from all three of my stories and moved to my profile just so it doesn't break it all up. So …. Without further ado …. The real chapter 10

**Thank you thank you thank you all to everyone who has been sending nothing but positive responses in regards to this - it means the world to me/us that you're all so understanding and ****I really do hope you all continue to enjoy reading my stories as I love writing them. :D **))

"_Lily!" _

"_FREAK!" _

"_It's real for us." _

"_Lily!" _

"_Are your parents still fighting?" _

"_Come on Sev, let's go somewhere else." _

"_LILY!" _

"_Let him go!" _

"_I don't need help from a mudblood!" _

"_LIIIIILLLLLLY!" _

*beep*

*beep*

*beep*

*beep*

Severus slowly opened his eyes, his entire body so cold he felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him. The steady rhythm of beeping came far too loud in his ears as he looked around. The room was extremely bright, his eyes squinting against the light.

He looked around, the beeping speeding up and it took him a moment to realize it was his heart beat. He looked up and saw a glowing red line moving through the air in time with the steady beeps.

He was in a hospital, he could tell that much. He looked down, his blurry eyes slowly starting to clear. Definitely in a hospital.

His eyes stopped on a chair nearby, a girl with curly brown hair fast asleep in the chair, a book held loosely in her hands.

He slowly tried to raise his hand to her but pain shot through him and stopped him from moving. He opened his mouth to speak but all that came out was a strangled moan.

The girl that sat in the chair woke with a start and looked at him. At first she stared at him a moment before she jumped out of her chair, the book falling to the floor with a loud thud.

"You're awake!" Hermione said, sounding stunned. "Oh … I …" She looked around not sure what to do before she tried to calm herself. "Stay here I'll get a healer!" She said before she realized how stupid that sounded that she told him to stay there. He wasn't exactly going anywhere.

She ran from the room and called a healer. The healer came in moments later and looked at Severus, Hermione close behind him.

"Miss. Granger, if you'll step outside please. Wait in the waiting room, I will call you." He said. Hermione looked like she was about to argue but nodded. She'd contact Harry while she waited. She quietly left the room to leave the healer alone with Severus.

The healer looked down at his patient who lay in the bed, looking both tired and uncomfortable.

"Hello." He said walking up to him, his wand pulled from his sleeve. Severus looked up at him as the man started checking his stats. He said nothing as the man ran his wand over him.

"How do you feel?" He asked. Severus cleared his throat.

"Tired." He said quietly.

"Any pain?" The healer asked, though he wasn't looking at him he was marking something on his clip board.

"Yes." Severus answered. The healer walked up to him and held a finger up in front of his face.

"Where?" The healer asked.

"Everywhere." Severus said quietly. It hurt even more when he moved.

"Follow my finger please." He said moving his finger back and forth. His eyes followed his finger perfectly. "Very good." He said marking something else on his clip board.

"Can you tell me your name?" The healer asked. Severus opened his mouth to speak and paused, he looked at the doctor but said nothing. "Okay … can you tell me how old you are?" Once again Severus said nothing. "Can you tell me what 2 + 2 is?"

"Four." Severus said.

"Good." He said marking some more things down on his clipboard. "Can you tell me what your name is?" He asked once again.

"I …." Severus paused once again. "I …. I don't remember." He said looking as if he were trying for the world to remember what it was.

"Do you know where you are?" The healer asked. Severus looked around the room once again.

"A hospital." He said quietly.

"Yes, you're at St. Mungos." The healer said. "Can you tell me what's the last thing you remember?" He asked. "From before you woke up?"

Severus thought for a moment. _'Lily.'_

"I remember … a girl … with red hair … or …." He thought a moment. "Maybe it was blond." He looked even more confused now. "Or brown …" Was it even a girl he remembered. "Might have been a boy. A kid …." He shook his head.

"Do you remember anything else?" The healer asked, but even as he was asking that small memory was fading from him, like a dream. The more he tried to hold onto it the more it slipped through his fingers. He couldn't even remember the name anymore …. It started with an L …. Or was it a T? Severus closed his eyes. He was so confused.

He tried to focus on another memory, but nothing came to mind. Absolutely nothing … as if the span of his existence was solely within those brief moments since he'd woken up.

"I … don't remember." He said staring up at the ceiling. The healer sighed and nodded, putting his quick away and put the clipboard back onto the attachment at the end of the bed.

"Well … I can't tell you much, it's not within my authority to do so … but I can tell you your name. Perhaps it'll jog a few memories. Your name is Severus Snape." The healer said, though he could tell by the look on his face that Severus was still drawing a blank.

"Odd name." Severus said so quietly the healer barely caught it.

"Do you remember what school you went to? The last thing you ate? Your parents names?" The healer asked. "Any minor detail from your past."

Severus thought about it once more. "No." He said quietly. He really wanted to remember. It was frustrating not to be able to, to not know who he is. The memories where there, he knew they were … like when a words on the tip of your tongue but it won't come to you.

The sound of footsteps in the hall caught the healers attention. "I think you may have some visitors." He said. "I'm going to speak to them before I let them in, if you're up to meeting them."

"Did I know them?" Severus asked. The healer nodded.

"I believe so. I think two of them used to be students of yours." The healer said, not realizing his slip up until it was too late.

"I was a teacher?" Severus asked. The healer nodded.

"Are you up for seeing them. I can ask them to come back later. You seem pretty tired." He said, "I know this is all confusing right now but … it'll all work out, you'll see." He said.

"It's fine." Severus said, curious as to who was there to see him. The healer stepped into the hall and shook his head at the small group of people.

"I need to talk to you all before you go in and see him." He said to the group of five. "Come into my office please."

"But we-" Harry started before the healer interrupted him.

"Please …. Step into my office. I need to speak to you before you go in."

((A/N – please don't lynch me for this chapter – Forgive me father for I know not what I do. Or perhaps I do …. xD Anyway I edited the pairings in the summary so people can stop asking me. It's HG/SS and JP/LP.))


End file.
